Organic Change, Organic Life, Eco-Friendly Water

This article from Nourishing the Planet will inspire many of you in researching about starting your home garden or even a community garden around your area. If they do it in Africa, why not in the Americas? We have the skills (if we don't, we can learn), the land (small or big) and the manpower. Gardening helps us stay healthy and fit!  Enjoy the article h.deux.flo As people move from rural to urban settings in search of economic opportunities, urban agriculture is becoming an important provider of both food and employment, according to researchers with the Worldwatch Institute . “Urban agriculture is providing food, jobs, and hope in Nairobi, Kampala, Dakar, and other cities across sub-Saharan Africa,” said Danielle Nierenberg, co-director of the Institute’s Nourishing the Planet project. “In some cases, urban farmers are providing important inputs, such as seed, to rural farmers, dispelling the myth that urban agriculture helps feed the poor and hungry only in cities.” ...

Before you feed your child that pack of brightly-colored gummy bears, you may want to think again. Your children may love the fun colors of those sweet chewy morsels, but most are laced with toxic synthetic food dyes. According to a recent report from the  Center for Science in the Public Interest , studies done on food dyes have found a connection between multiple health imbalances, as well as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in children. The food dyes in question are Blue 1 & 2, Citrus Red 2, Green 3, Red 3 & 40, Yellow 5 & 6. Food dyes are coloring agents commonly added to practically all American processed foods. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is also concerned about the fact that the FDA has approved nine different food dyes known to be detrimental to health in both animal and human studies, and clinical studies have found a clear link between food dyes and ADHD. Sadly, there are over 3,000 substances (such as dyes and coloran...

What Is Nattokinase? Nattokinase is a powerful proteolytic enzyme that has both fibrinolytic and anti-inflammatory health benefits. It is best known for its astounding fibrinolytic (anti-clotting) capacities. Perhaps its most supported use is in the area of cardiovascular health, where it helps to restore healthy fibrin metabolism and reduce blood clotting, thus making it an extremely powerful, all-natural enzymatic support which may aid in the prevention of both heart disease and stroke. Nattokinase has also been scientifically proven to offer relief from joint inflammation. As many of you know, cardiovascular disease is the  leading cause of death  for both men and women. As we age, fibrinogen levels rise (blood clotting potentials), and the enzymes that help dissolve these clots actually lower. According to a  report  from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than 700,000 people have a stroke every year. What is more, the American Heart Association states ...

By Supriya Kumar According to the  United Nations   World Food Programme  (WFP), around  70 million  school-age children live and attend school in hunger-stricken areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Working in collaboration with the  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation  and the  New Partnership for Africa’s Development  (NEPAD), the WFP is hoping to address this problem using  home grown school feeding (HGSF) programs. HGSF is a  school feeding program  that provides  locally produced food  to schools in countries, including Brazil, Chile, India and Thailand. Like other school feeding programs, the focus is on alleviating hunger, while supporting  education, nutrition and community development . The goal is to ensure a continuous supply of good quality and highly nutritious food that satisfy local preferences while protecting  crop diversity . Unlike other school feeding programs, HGSF follows core principles that n...

Thinking Beyond "Green" to Truly Sustainable By Joel Salatin  Acres USA, June 2011  Straight to the Source : http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23438.cfm As the imperative for developing ecologically-regenerative food and farming systems penetrates deeper into our culture's collective psyche, even college administrators are asking: "What does an eco-college look like?" Almost every institution, from corporate to academic, now has some sort of sustainability director. The person hired for this position is supposed to help the organization become more eco-friendly, or at least promote a semblance of green-think. Raising institutional awareness about water usage, natural light, living roofs, local food sourcing and the type of napkins used, these staff members are an impressively persistent lot, often challenging entrenched ways of doing things. In the last couple of years, I've been asked more and more, as part of a day's speaking en...